Traditionally, basketball goals utilized at a residence have a backboard with a goal basket rigidly mounted on a fixed metal pole or on a metal structure attached to some part of the residence. In most instances the fixed pole or the portion of the residence which supports the basketball goal lies adjacent a driveway or similar hard surface which may be utilized as a basketball playing surface. Such fixed basketball goals at residences generally detract from the aesthetics of the residence and basketballs being thrown toward the goal inadvertently may strike parts of the residence such as a garage door or a window and cause damage thereof. Additionally, a solid pole which mounts a basketball goal may make ingress and egress of a driveway more difficult inasmuch as the pole must be located close to the driveway surface if it is to be used as a basketball playing surface.
Thus, it becomes desirable to provide a portable basketball goal for residential use which may be moved to a driveway or other playing surface when a participant wants to play basketball and may be removed from the playing surface thereafter. Ideally, the portable basketball goal should be collapsible in height and lengthwise to occupy the smallest possible space when not in use.
A mechanism for raising and lowering a basketball backboard with respect to a fixed surface and having a parallelogram mechanism is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,881,003 (Drew). A portable adjustable basketball goal in which the backboard and goal basket may be adjusted in height with respect to a base with the base including a wheel assembly for moving the goal may be seen in U.S. Pat. No. 3,025,058 (Brumfield). Another type of adjustable and movable basketball goal is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,427,025 to Proctor. This patent discloses a vertically adjustable basketball goal having wheels to make it portable. U.S. Pat. No. 3,722,886 (Sinner) discloses a wheeled stand for a basketball goal which allows the height of the goal to be adjusted vertically. This device may be secured to a motor vehicle or bolted to a solid surface to secure it in place. German Publication DT2234942 discloses a basketball goal having a height adjustable backboard and goal basket and a parallelogram linkage which enables the device to be collapsed to the ground. A nonportable vertically adjustable basketball goal may be seen in U.S. Pat. No. 4,801,142 (Friesen). This device would not be portable. A portable basketball goal which is collapsible is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,869,501 to Anastasakis.
One disadvantage of prior portable basketball goals resides in the fact that those that are collapsible either have a vertical support located directly below the backboard which support may cause injury to a player or the units have a long horizontally extending base which receives a counterweight and the backstop and goal basket are mounted on an angled support member which extends outwardly from the base to eliminate the problems associated with a support directly beneath a goal. The long extended base makes storage of the portable goal difficult.
Accordingly, it becomes desirable to provide a portable basketball goal having a vertically adjustable backboard and goal basket, which provides a support mechanism for the backboard and goal basket which does not extend directly below the backboard and having a base adapted to receive a counterweight which may be extended and retracted to enable the device to be reduced in size for storage.